The present invention relates generally to error checking in processing devices and systems, and more specifically, to error checking using serial collection of error data.
Error detection and diagnosis is routinely used in processing devices and systems, such as desktop computers, networks, mainframes and servers. For example, IBM System z mainframe servers and power servers have robust error detection that includes various registers for detection of errors and collection of error data.
Some circuit failures are expected in any modern technology, such as charged-particle induced soft errors in arrays, and recovery from these expected circuit failures is important for continuous availability. Granular fault isolation is used to distinguish “expected” circuit failures from “unexpected” failures, or even design problems, where corrective actions may be necessary to avoid a dangerous condition or guarantee recoverability.
As circuit density and design complexity has increased dramatically over generations, so has the number of error checkers required for robust error detection. Maintaining granular fault and error detection, in many instances, requires additional circuit real estate and power consumption to keep up with improvements in processing capability.